LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Ethernet: Cables
built 631 days ago
A major advance in Ethernet cabling came with 10BaseT, still widely implemented today. The main advantage of 10BaseT is that it uses unshielded twisted pair (UTP) wiring rather than Coaxial cable. This not only enhances signal integrity, it ... makes for much more economical implementation. Another cabling option is Fiber Optic, which can be implemented using 10Base-FP.
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The first Ethernet standard, 10Base-5, ran over thick coaxial cable. A later standard, Ethernet 10Base-2, ran over a much thinner coaxial cable. These two versions of Ethernet were colloquially known as thicknet and thinnet.
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In simpler days, when Ethernet was dominated by heavy duty coax cable, it was possible to translate the 50 millisecond limit and other electrical restrictions into rules about cable length, number of stations, and number of repeaters. However, by adding new media (such as Fiber Optic cable) and smarter electronics, it becomes difficult to state physical distance limits with precision. However those limits work out, they are ultimately reflections of the constraint on the worst case round trip.
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When it comes to how signals flow over the set of media segments that make up an Ethernet system, it helps to understand the topology of the system. The signal topology of the Ethernet is ... known as the logical topology, to distinguish it from the actual physical layout of the media cables. The logical topology of an Ethernet provides a single channel (or bus) that carries Ethernet signals to all stations.
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If the Ethernet cable is shorted out, a simple volt meter would determine that the proper resistor is missing from the signal and shield wires. Again, by sending out a pulse and timing the return, the test device can determine the distance to the problem.
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